I thought Ichiro had a chance to pass Ted Williams' record of 0.406 but he seems to have slowed down a bit. Now, I feel good watching Pedroia at the plate. The kid reaches *everything*. He put a ball into play that was 2 feet outside of the strike zone the other night! It's crazy what he can reach for and lob over the infield.

We 'holix have been truly blessed over the years with many fine young men doing their best for the carmine hose. But Dustin's rise from "Who?" to "Mightier-than-Ditka" is positively Freddy Lynn-esque. Same great joy. Same giant haht. Same fear-no-evil. I'm just sayin'...

Now, with ____ playing for the blue hats, any speculation on when Theo will succeed in bringing in a new Jim Rice check-the-swing-break-the-bat mighty left fieldah?

Dale,
For my tastes, I am pretty happy with a guy like Bay out in the outfield. I wonder if there will be pressure to bring in some bad ass to fill Manny's shoes, but a guy like Bay is doing a great job. Perhaps a mighty left fieldah that is also good in the clubhouse? Sorry the Manny fever is over- I am glad he is out after seeing how they perform without him.

PS - If anyone runs into paddy24, could you send him in here to tell me how many more over/under 0.500 teams we have left to play? I'd like to know what our chances are against the likes of the Twins and White Sox and Yankees.

Sitting in Logan, awaiting my one-way flight to the no-baseball zone across the pond. More from the UK in a few days, once I get the flat and the internet connection. In the interim, God bless international Blackberry service. Look forward to you all keeping me updated on all things Sox and Soxaholix! Cheerio, pip pip and all that...